The present invention relates to attachments for cranes and hydraulic excavators and more particularly to catch basin attachments for bridge deck demolition.
More than 200,000 bridges with spans of over twenty feet are in need of bridge deck repair in the United States. The bridges require bridge deck removal or demolition to meet standards set by state and federal agencies.
In bridge deck removal, it is typical to utilize hydraulic hammers, drop balls, or saws to fracture and demolish a bridge deck. Acetylene torches cut concrete reinforcing bars. More recently, contractors have utilized mobile concrete crushing attachments connected to the boom structures of hydraulic excavators to demolish bridge decks. The mobile concrete crushing attachments have shears with swinging jaws for crushing and breaking of concrete and reinforcing bars.
The debris created in bridge deck removal, such as crushed concrete and pieces of reinforcing bars, are conventionally allowed to fall through a bridge frame to the road, railroad tracks, or river passing under the bridge. Such practices create safety and environmental hazards, require undesirable clean up operations and may be prohibited by federal and state environmental regulations.